What's in a Name?
by Commodore Norrington
Summary: The team tries to find a name for Gibbs' boat, but Ducky knows something they don't.
1. Speculations

"Tony, go interview the wife and CO. Kate, with me."

"Aw, boss, why don't I get to go with you?" Tony whined.

"Because someone needs to interview the wife and CO. Do I look like I'm in a debating mood?"

Tony scampered off to the truck. Kate grabbed her gear and followed Gibbs to his car.

"We're stopping by my place first," he informed her. "To pick up a couple things."

"Okay," Kate replied, surprised by Gibbs' candor.

She was even more surprised when they reached his house and he asked, "Coming or staying?"

"Uh, coming, I guess." No way was she going to pass up the opportunity to see Gibbs' house.

He led her to the basement, then left her as he gathered some supplies. She gazed around, memorizing every detail. She spotted the photo of Ari on the back wall, her spine chilling as she noticed the two perfectly round bullet holes in his forehead. The boat, of course, took up a good bit of the floor space.

"What's her name?" she asked.

"Whose name?"

"The boat. What's her name?"

"It doesn't have one."

"Bad luck not to name a boat," Kate said, wondering why she was pressing the issue. Gibbs apparently had the same thought, as he reappeared with a quizzical look on his face. He didn't say it, but Kate could almost hear him thinking, _Why do you care?_ She shrugged and dropped the subject.

-----------

"Morning, Sparky."

"Tony," Kate acknowledged without looking up. She was deeply entrenched in a slough of paperwork from which she was very eager to escape. She wasn't about to let Tony distract her.

Tony, too, had a ton of paperwork, but his philosophy was more approach avoidance. "So, interesting time yesterday?"

"What?" Kate asked, her mind still on her reports.

"Y'know, at Gibbs' house?"

"Tony, just cut to the chase and ask me a question. How else am I supposed to know what the hell you're talking about?" Kate exploded.

"Sorry. What'd you do at Gibbs' yesterday?"

"What? He grabbed some stuff and we left. What did you think – " Kate interrupted herself. "Never mind. I don't want to know."

"Talk about anything?" Tony was less interested than he seemed; he just didn't want to do his work.

"Yeah, his boat. Satisfied?"

"What about his boat?"

"DiNozzo!" Kate was fed up. She really needed to get this stuff done.

"Last question, Kate, I swear. What about his boat?"

Kate gave him a look and searched her memory. "Um, the name I think. Now will you shut up?"

Tony was interested for real, now. "He told you her name?"

Kate noted the change in Tony's tone; otherwise, she would have bitten his head off for continuing to question her. "No, he said she didn't have one. 'It' is actually what he said. Why?"

"Oh, no reason," Tony replied, his unconvincing indifference not covering the relief in his voice.

Kate grinned. "He hasn't told you either."

Tony shook his head. "Nope." Leaning toward her, he smiled mischievously. "I always thought _Pequod_ would be appropriate."

Kate laughed softly. "You know, Tony, that was actually funny."

"Thanks, Sparky," Tony beamed, either not recognizing or choosing to ignore the mild jab at most of his jokes. Just then, Gibbs walked in with his ubiquitous coffee and they got back to work.

---------

"Abby!" Kate yelled over the music. Abby did not respond until Kate tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped, turning with her hands raised as if ready to attack. Relaxing as she recognized Kate, she turned the music off.

"You and Gibbs, I swear. Whaddaya need?"

"I have a question."

"Shoot."

"Has Gibbs ever told you the name of his boat?"

Abby looked at her curiously. "Don't think so. Why?"

"Tony and I were just curious. Do you have an idea for one?"

"I dunno...How about _Una_?" Kate cocked her head quizzically and Abby hastened to explain. "There's this book written as a companion piece to Moby Dick. The main character is Captain Ahab's wife, Una."

Kate nodded in understanding, grinning as she understood the reference.

--------

"Caitlin! What brings you down here?" Ducky greeted her warmly.

"I have a question."

"Fire away."

"Has Gibbs ever told you the name of his boat?"

Ducky suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Er, no, I don't...believe so."

Kate could tell he was lying, but she couldn't imagine why. "Well, do you have any ideas?"

"Oh, I don't know. Perhaps _Starbuck_? Did you know that Starbucks was actually named for the character in Moby Dick? Fascinating, really, how companies are named. In fact – "

"Um, Ducky? I have to get back to work. Thanks for your help." Kate slipped out of autopsy before Ducky could get started again. He, far from being perturbed at her interruption, was rather relieved.

"Ah, Jethro, my promise has come back to haunt me."


	2. The Name

"Hey, Tony!"

"What's up, Sparky?" Tony looked up, eager for any distraction from his paperwork.

"I asked Ducky and Abby about Gibbs' boat. Neither knows the actual name. But get this: both of them thought of a Moby Dick-related name," Kate finished with a flourish, waiting for Tony to react. His reaction was disappointing. He simply shrugged and nodded, looking as if he had expected her to say something of the sort. "Well? Aren't you impressed?"

"Well, Kate, it's not exactly surprising. I mean, everyone around here knows the parallels between Gibbs and Ahab. Especially with the whole Ari thing." Tony shrugged again, laughing inside at how his seeming disinterest infuriated Kate.

"Fine. But there's more. I think Ducky's hiding something."

Tony's interest was definitely piqued, but he refused to show it. "Like what?" he asked casually. "A body in the freezer?"

"Haha. When I asked him if Gibbs had ever told him the boat's name, he looked...uneasy."

"What did he say?"

"Well, he said no, but he was very hesitant. Besides, Ducky knows everything about Gibbs. Why wouldn't he know this?"

"Because Gibbs is an extremely private person who doesn't tell anyone anything remotely related to his personal life?" Tony reminded her. "Ducky doesn't know _everything_ about Gibbs."

"Like what?" Kate challenged.

"Like...like...OK, fine. He does know everything about Gibbs," Tony conceded.

"I highly doubt that," a familiar voice interrupted. Tony and Kate looked up guiltily, avoiding their boss' eyes. "Get back to work."

Glad for no greater punishment, they attacked their work with gusto. Gibbs looked amusedly at his protégés, smiling slightly at the fear they had of him. Now for the fun part.

"Heard you've been asking some questions," he tossed out casually, watching their reactions carefully. Guessing what he was up to, they carefully masked their expressions.

"We ask a lot of questions, boss. It's our job," Tony quipped, prudently toeing the line between humor and insubordination.

"I appreciate that, DiNozzo. What I don't appreciate is my subordinates asking others questions about me. You have something to ask me, you ask me." He waited. Kate, in particular, looked like she was struggling with something.

Finally, she burst out, "What'sthenameofyourboat?"

Raising one eyebrow, he fought not to laugh. He considered telling them but then again, he had only told one person and, well, they wanted to know so badly; it would be too much fun to make them suffer. Giving them a small, knowing smile, he laid his trap. "You really want to know?"

Kate looked faintly surprised that he had responded at all, let alone seemingly in the positive. Tony wore a look that reminded Gibbs of a person watching cricket for the first time, or perhaps curling. Kate recovered first. "Well...yeah."

Gibbs' grin widened, at least inside. Outside he remained as cool and composed as always. Beckoning them closer, he lowered his voice. "The name is...you're sure you want to know?"

"Yes, Gibbs, come on!" Kate exploded. Gibbs struggled harder than ever not to laugh. She was so desperate.

"Okay, okay. The name is..." They were now so close that Gibbs could hear Tony's breath and smell Kate's shampoo. "Suckers!" he burst out loudly. They jumped backwards, startled. Quickly realizing what had happened, they lowered their eyes in embarrassment. Gibbs watched every move, every expression, memorizing the moment for later amusement. He could not laugh now; it was far too unprofessional.

-----------

"Ducky, can I talk to you?"

"Caitlin! Twice in one day, what a pleasant surprise!"

"I was wondering, when I asked you about Gibbs' boat before, you were, well, kind of," Kate stammered. "Uneasy. Is there something you're not telling me?"

The same look crossed Ducky's face. Debating with himself, he decided to tell her the truth. Or most of it.

"Caitlin, Gibbs has been working on that boat for ten years. He was interrupted...by something," Ducky caught himself in time. "He named her, perhaps, five years ago. He swore me to secrecy. I'm sorry."

Kate was far from satisfied; this had only served to whet her appetite for information. But Ducky would not give an inch. Recalling Gibbs' earlier outburst, she made her decision. She would go straight to the source. _Third time's a charm_, she convinced herself.

---------

"Hey, Gibbs!"

Gibbs froze for less than an instant before regaining composure. There was a note in Kate's voice that he rarely heard. She was going for the jugular, his jugular, with no mercy.

"That was a good joke earlier," she attempted to soften her approach, but Gibbs was not fooled. There was fire in her eyes.

"I'm sure. What do you want?" he asked, even though he knew.

"I would really like to know, just between you and me, for no other reason than my personal curiosity, the name of your boat." She had clearly been rehearsing this for quite a while.

"Why do you think I would tell you this time if I didn't tell you the first two times?"

"Because," she fired back. "You've progressed each time. The first time, 'it' didn't have a name. The second time, you were about to tell us 'the' name. Maybe this time you'll tell me 'her' name."

It was a surprisingly reasonable argument. Gibbs carefully considered his answer. She had come this far; maybe she deserved a reward. "Okay."

"Besides," she continued. "I'm not going to tell Tony. In fact, it'll be really fun to – "

"Kate!" he interrupted.

"What?" she answered, perturbed.

"I said 'okay'."

"Oh," she said, looking rather wrong-footed as if she didn't know what to say now that he had agreed so easily. "Well, what is it then?"

He scribbled something on a piece of paper, checked it over, and handed it to her. She glanced over it quickly, her brow furrowing. She looked up at him, her eyes asking if it was true. He nodded. Her mouth twitched and she struggled desperately not to smile.

"That's, uh," she sought the right word. "That's a nice name."

"Thanks," he said shortly, gathering his things and heading for the door. As soon as he was out of earshot, she burst out laughing. She couldn't help it; it was an unusual name.

She stopped laughing quite suddenly as his voice floated back to her. His explanation made sense and she knew she would catch it later for her lack of sensitivity. _Crap_, she thought. _I _had_ to laugh_. She mulled over his response again, shaking her head.

"It's my mother's name."


End file.
